UNESCO Participates in Regional Seminar on Prevention of Violent Extremism in Astana

The United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) and the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) jointly organized a regional seminar for Central Asia on ‘Addressing Conditions Conducive to the Spread of Violent Extremism and Terrorism’ in Astana, Kazakhstan, AVA Diplomatic reports.

Ms. Esther Kuisch Laroche, Director of the UNESCO Cluster Office in Tehran and UNESCO Representative to Iran and Turkmenistan, participated in the seminar and talked about UNESCO’s efforts in preventing violent extremism (PVE).

“To counter discourses of hatred that seek to set cultures against each other, we must guarantee universal access to quality education to enable on to withstand calls to violence. To counter the destruction of cultural diversity and the persecution of minorities, we must protect heritage as a force for mutual understanding. To counter ignorance, we must guarantee freedom of expression and promote media and information literacy to provide young people with the skills they need to analyze the endless sources of information that are currently available”, said Ms. Kuisch Laroche.

The UNESCO Representative also talked about UNESCO’s Youth Team, which seeks to put young people at the very heart of addressing the root causes of violent extremism, and mentioned the launch of a new two-year project on ‘Prevention of Violent Extremism through Youth Empowerment in Jordan, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia’, which was recently launched by UNESCO and UNCCT.

Throughout the seminar, Member States highlighted the crucial importance of Education in PVE. Ms Kuisch Laroche said: “As the UN lead agency for Education, UNESCO believes that education policy and practice need to underscore the principles of living together in harmony with a sense of unity in our common humanity. Education has a crucial role to play in creating a strong sense of belonging among those who feel excluded or marginalized. It also provides learners the opportunities to develop skills for non-violent ways of expression, communication and problem-solving.”